{"id":193927,"date":"2025-12-17T11:45:34","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T11:45:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-trump-claims-peace-deal-closer-than-ever-but-differences-remain-the-independent\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T11:45:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T11:45:34","slug":"ukraine-war-latest-trump-claims-peace-deal-closer-than-ever-but-differences-remain-the-independent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/ukraine-war-latest-trump-claims-peace-deal-closer-than-ever-but-differences-remain-the-independent\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war latest: Trump claims peace deal \u2018closer than ever\u2019 but differences remain – The Independent"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\u2018The most dangerous thing is that this conflict will go on,\u2019 said the Lukashenko
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Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko has warned that the world risks \u201cglobal conflict\u201d<\/a> if the war between Russia and Ukraine<\/a> continues.
\u201cThis conflict must be frozen,\u201d he told The Record with Greta Van Susteren <\/em>on Newsmax.
\u201cThe most dangerous thing is that this conflict will go on. And if the escalation is still there, the consequences might be very hard and very dangerous for Europe and for the entire world,\u201d he said.
\u201cIt will escalate into a global conflict. That is why we must extinguish this conflict right now when we have the opportunity.\u201d
It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a> ruled out a ceasefire by Christmas<\/a>, saying Russia<\/a> is likely to reject a new European-backed peace proposal and that Ukraine must be ready to continue fighting.
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Zelensky said a final set of proposals would be completed within two days and handed by the United States<\/a> to Moscow.
He said Kyiv<\/a> expected the Kremlin<\/a> to refuse the plan. Russia has already dismissed calls for a Christmas truce, insisting any pause must meet its demands.
Ukrainian forces have reportedly taken control of 90 per cent of the northeastern town of Kupiansk, military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a Telegram statement on Wednesday.
\u201cThanks to active search and strike operations, we managed to repel the (Russians) from Kupiansk and take control of almost 90 per cent of the town’s territory,\u201d he said.
It comes after Russia claimed it had gained control of the territory earlier this week.
The United States is readying itself to impose new sanctions on Russia in the event that President Vladimir Putin rejects a peace deal, according to Bloomberg<\/em><\/a>.
Several options are being considered including the targeting of vessels in Russia\u2019s shadow-fleet of tankers that are used to transport oil, as well as traders facilitating transactions.
The new plans could be revealed as early as next week, according to sources close to the talks.
Belarusian president Aleksandr Lukashenko has commented on US president Donald Trump\u2019s role in peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, saying that the American leader cannot fix the conflict \u201calone\u201d.
\u201cIf it depended only on Trump, then the war probably would already be over,\u201d the leader told The Record with Greta Van Susteren <\/em>on Newsmax. <\/a>
\u201cBut we have two conflicting parties, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and also us being dragged into the conflict because we are living at the border with these two countries.
\u201cThis is a multilateral process, and Trump alone won’t be able to resolve this issue.
\u201cThis conflict must be frozen. We must stop the deaths of people and then we can talk about everything.\u201d
Lukashenko warned that the war could break into global conflict if it is not stopped.
\u201cThe most dangerous thing is that this conflict will go on. And if the escalation is still there, the consequences might be very hard and very dangerous for Europe and for the entire world.
\u201cIt will escalate into a global conflict,\u201d he explained.
\u201cThat is why we must extinguish this conflict right now when we have the opportunity.\u201d
European Union Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has insisted that Europe must be responsible for its own security.
In an address to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday, she said that Europe \u201ccannot afford to let others define its worldview\u201d.
\u201cThis is no longer an option. It is a must,\u201d she said.
Referring to the US National Security Strategy that reported that Europe is on the decline, she agreed that its share of global GDP was reducing but said America is on \u201cthe same path\u201d.
The Ukrainian military says it has blown up a $400m Russian submarine in an unprecedented attack <\/a>on the Russian navy\u2019s most important remaining Black Sea<\/a> base located in Novorossiysk.
The strike marks the first time an underwater drone <\/a>has neutralised a submarine, according to President Volodymyr Zelensky<\/a>\u2019s advisor Alexander Kamyshin.
\u201cAs a result of the explosion, the submarine suffered critical damage and was effectively put out of action,\u201d the Security Service of Ukraine<\/a> (SBU) said in a statement alongside footage of the attack on Monday.
Russia<\/a> has acknowledged the attack, executed by the Sub Sea Baby underwater drones on the Russian Kilo-class attack submarine. But Moscow denied any damage to its ships or submarines despite the apparent size of the blast, CNN reports.
The establishment of the claims commission does not mean Ukrainians can expect swift reparations for damages.
Details on how any damages awarded by the commission, to be based in the Netherlands, would be paid still need to be worked out.
Early discussions have touched on using Russian assets frozen by the EU, supplemented by member contributions.
“The goal is to have validated claims that will ultimately be paid by Russia. It will really have to be paid by Russia; this commission offers no guarantee for the damages,” Dutch foreign minister David van Weel said.
The two-year-old Register of Damage, which will become part of the claims commission, has already received over 86,000 claims submitted by individuals, organisations and public bodies in Ukraine under a wide range of categories.
Russian officials were not immediately reachable to comment on the commission.
The Kremlin denies accusations of war crimes by Russian forces in Ukraine. It has also described the EU’s proposal to use immobilised Russian assets to finance Ukraine’s defence and budget needs as illegal and threatened retaliation.
Europe launched an International Claims Commission for Ukraine on Tuesday in an effort to ensure Kyiv is compensated for hundreds of billions of dollars in damage from Russian attacks and alleged war crimes.
The gathering in The Hague of dozens of leaders including Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky coincided with a US-orchestrated diplomatic push to end the war in Ukraine that was triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
“Every Russian war crime must have consequences for those who committed them,” Zelensky said, before 34 European leaders signed a convention to formally launch the commission at Tuesday’s gathering in The Hague.
“That’s exactly where the real path to peace begins,” he added. “It’s not enough to force Russia into a deal. It’s not enough to make it stop killing. We must make Russia accept that there are rules in the world.”
Ukraine\u2019s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said revised US-brokered peace plans could be presented to Russia within days<\/a>, following successful talks in Berlin.
The Ukrainian president left Germany confident that proposals negotiated with the US would soon be finalised after receiving crucial security guarantees from his European allies and Washington.
He said that American envoys were set to present the outcomes of this week\u2019s talks to the Kremlin – but not before Russia could pour cold water on the plans<\/a>.
Read this report by James C Reynolds: <\/em><\/strong>
Russia has dismissed the idea of a truce over the festive period, after Germany’s chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested a Christmas ceasefire could be “the beginning of peace” in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed Russia wants a comprehensive peace deal, not a temporary truce.If Ukraine seeks \u201cmomentary, unsustainable solutions, we are unlikely to be ready to participate,\u201d he said.
\u201cWe want peace \u2013 we don\u2019t want a truce that would give Ukraine a respite and prepare for the continuation of the war,\u201d Pescov told reporters.
\u201cWe want to stop this war, achieve our goals, secure our interests, and guarantee peace in Europe for the future.\u201d
\u201cIf the Ukrainians\u2019 desire to substitute reaching a deal with short-term, unviable solutions begins to dominate, then we are unlikely to be willing to participate,\u201d he added.
Zelensky said both Kyiv and the US backed Merz’s proposal for a Christmas ceasefire but made clear it would also need the Kremlin’s involvement to be viable.
\u201cThe United States supports this idea. I, as president, certainly support this idea,\u201d he said.
He added that Ukraine was open to different formats for a ceasefire, including limits on attacks on energy infrastructure during the bitter mid-winter.
\u201cWe will support any ceasefire,\u201d Zelensky said, while cautioning that its implementation would ultimately \u201cdepend on Russia\u2019s political will.\u201d
Volodymyr Zelensky has again ruled out recognising Moscow\u2019s control over any part of the Donbas, an economically important region in eastern Ukraine made up of Luhansk and Donetsk.
Russia’s army doesn\u2019t fully control either province, but Donald Trump has previously indicated that Ukraine will have to cede them to Moscow.
\u201cThe Americans are trying to find a compromise,\u201d Zelensky said, before visiting the Netherlands on Tuesday.
\u201cThey are proposing a \u2018free economic zone\u2019 (in the Donbas). And I want to stress once again: a \u2018free economic zone\u2019 does not mean under the control of the Russian Federation.\u201d
Russian president Vladimir Putin wants all the areas in four key regions that his forces have seized, as well as the Crimean Peninsula, which Moscow illegally annexed in 2014, to be recognised as Russian territory.
Zelensky warned that if Putin rejects diplomatic efforts, Ukraine expects increased Western pressure on Moscow, including tougher sanctions and additional military support for defence, such as enhanced air defence systems and long-range weapons.
Zelensky said his officials want Russia to be \u201cheld accountable for what it has done \u2013 for this war, for all the killings, for all the suffering\u201d.
Ukraine and the US are preparing up to five documents related to the peace framework, several of them focused on security, Zelensky said.
He was upbeat about the progress in the Berlin talks.
\u201cOverall, there was a demonstration of unity,\u201d Zelensky said. \u201cIt was truly positive in the sense that it reflected the unity of the US, Europe, and Ukraine.\u201d
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